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Tomato, Goat Cheese and Black Olive Tarts

What I like about this recipe is that it is a good basis both for creativity and cleaning out your pantry.  It has a good basic filling, and frozen puff pastry is a great thing to keep in the freezer at all times.  That means you are always just an ingredient or two away from being able to make a delicious centerpiece dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You can make this with caramelized onions or mushrooms instead of tomatoes.  You could add a handful of diced ham or bacon.  You could change the herbs to basil or chives or a mix.  Make it as one big tart or 4 small ones.  You can go to the trouble of roasting the tomatoes as I have, or you can use sun-dried tomatoes instead.  Whatever you choose, the result looks and tastes great—in any season, for any meal.

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Black Olive Tarts

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Extra-virgin olive oil
6 small tomatoes, cored, halved crosswise, seeded
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme, divided
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese
½ cup (about 4 ounces) fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
¼ cup whipping cream
3 oil-cured black olives (like Kalamata) pitted and sliced lengthwise into quarters
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Two hours before you want to assemble the tart, prepare the tomatoes.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and then brush with a little olive oil.  Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet cut side up.  Sprinkle the minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of the thyme on the tomatoes.  Drizzle with just a bit more olive oil.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake until the tomatoes have shriveled a bit, look slightly dried but are still soft.  Cool to room temperature before assembling the tart.

To make the tarts, begin by rolling out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch square.  Cut the pastry into quarters.  Place one quarter into a tart mold with a removable bottom.  Press the pastry down into the pan and prick all over with a fork.  Repeat with the other three tart shells, put them on a baking sheet and chill them for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line each of the tart shells with a piece of foil and fill with pie weights or beans.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and pie weights and bake until the shells are golden for about 10 more minutes.  Cool the crusts to room temperature.

While the crusts are cooling, reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, stir together the mozzarella cheese, goat cheese and the remaining 1 tablespoon of thyme.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the eggs and cream and blend well.  Divide the cheese filling among the four tart shells.  Place the tomatoes on the filling and place pieces of black olive in between.  Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese.  Bake until the tarts are nicely puffed and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes, push up the pan bottoms and remove the tarts from their pans.

Note:  To make ahead, you can roast the tomatoes, bake the tart shells and prepare the filling.  Then you can fill the tart shells right before baking.  Don’t do this earlier without baking them or the crusts will be soggy.